Chevron says net income rose 41 per cent in the fourth quarter as the company produced more oil and gas, improved performance of its refinery business and realized a gain from swapping assets in an Australian natural gas field.

Chevron Corp. posted net income of $7.2 billion for the quarter on revenue of $60.6 billion. That's up from $5.1 billion on revenue of $60 billion a year ago.

On a per-share basis, Chevron earned $3.70. Analysts had expected the company to earn $3.07 per share, according to FactSet, but analysts had not factored in the $1.4 billion gain from Chevron's asset exchange.

Excluding the gain from the asset sale Chevron's net income rose 14 per cent in the quarter.